119. The Army of the Gods, the Army of the King.

Seventh Holy Warrior Al-Sharon. When he was revealed, Ko Byeong-gap stepped back on his own. He had to suffer from a terrible sense of intimidation.

‘He’s definitely dead. How?’

The Sarahon Legion made a huge sacrifice and captured the seven Holy Warriors, and it was Al-Sharon who decorated the grand finale.

‘An unrivaled enemy.’

His eccentricity was incomparable with any other monster. He was truly different.

“Shit!”

Shim Seung-seop gritted his teeth and fired an electric shot. At that moment, light gathered in Al-Sharon’s left arm and created a round shield. He simply blocked the lightning with his shield.

Suddenly, a light came from Al-Sharon’s right arm, which transformed into a 15-meter-tall polearm. It was the weapon that shook off the heads of thousands of Sarahons.

“That’s dangerous.”

Jeong Seon-kyung growled as she dropped to the floor and glanced at her double-edged ax. She quickly picked it up.

“Be careful!”

Ko Byeong-gap screamed. The tip of the pointed polearm stretched out for Jeong Seon-kyung. She calmly swung her ax and struck it back, but despite her perfect response, she plummeted.

“Noona!”

“… Shit.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to sustain major damage. Jeong Seon-kyung immediately got up.

“Up!”

The broad blade of the polearm fell on Jeong Seon-kyung’s head. She quickly lifted her ax. Soon, the two blades clashed, and Jeong Seon-kyung’s lower body was submerged in the ground.

Before the second attack, Ko Byeong-gap rushed swiftly. As he leaped forward, he poured a bunch of sword strikes into Al-Sharon’s face.

When the slashes exploded, he stumbled. Shim Seung-seop didn’t miss the gap and fired lightning at the same spot.

“Cooooo!”

“Hah!”

Jeong Seon-kyung, who approached in a blink of an eye, swung her ax, turning her whole body. When the blade hit him in the ankle, Al-Sharon couldn’t stand it and fell.

Jeong Seon-kyung jumped up and lifted her ax. As a formidable Karma gathered around it, a huge weapon was created comparable to Al-Sharon’s Polearm.

The ax, about eight meters wide on both blades, fell. Al-Sharon immediately stretched out his shield to receive the attack.

Hit!

“Hahaha!”

The ax made of Karma broke off without a hitch. The shield hit Jeong Seon-kyung as it was, and it sent her crashing backward.

Ko Byeong-gap quickly caught her and stood before her.

“Mr. Chang-hoon!”

“I know!”

Han Chang-hoon restored Jeong Seon-kyung with his healing abilities. Meanwhile, Al-Sharon raised his body.

Ko Byeong-gap was nervous in anticipation of an attack, but what he saw was an unexpected sight. Al-Sharon’s body, specifically, his left arm holding the shield, turned into dust and flew away.

“Kuo…?”

His expression wasn’t visible due to the helmet, but Al-Sharon also seemed to be perplexed.

“Hey! The big guy doesn’t seem to be strong enough. It’s worth a try!”

Jeong Seon-kyung wiped her bloody mouth and burned her fighting spirit.

Ko Byeong-gap felt a little puzzled about this part. So he opened his eyes and observed Al-Sharon. When he realized something, he shivered.

‘He’s not in perfect condition right now.’

On closer inspection, he was a mess. His platinum-colored armor, which he thought was brilliant, had cracks everywhere. To add to the leap, he was like a broken clay doll that had been forcibly attached.

He was also small in size. The Holy Warriors were originally giants over 50 meters tall, but currently, he was only about seven meters at most.

‘I don’t know what happened, but he’s incomplete.’

If Al-Sharon were in perfect condition, Ko Byeong-gap and his party alone would never be able to win. However, since he was imperfect at that time, it was a different story. It was worth going against.

“Byeong-gap, can you tank?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Stop that monster bastard’s attack just once. In the meantime, I will try to do something.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Jeong Seon-kyung and Ko Byeong-gap ran together. Al-Sharon rotated the polearm without worry.

“Byeong-gap!”

“Okay!”

He quickly blocked the trajectory of the polearm and released his aura as much as he could, producing a large golden shield. In an instant, the polearm and the shield collided.

“Agh!”

The shield’s aura cracked. No matter how optimistic he was, it lasted only about a second, but it was enough. A second wouldn’t be too short for an S-class hunter.

On that little chance he earned them, Jeong Seon-kyung didn’t miss it and dug into their enemy at once. Her ax was once again transformed into a gigantic weapon.

Al-Sharon tried to avoid it with agility, but it didn’t go as planned. A whip of lightning rose from the ground as soon as he stepped on it and tightly bound Al-Sharon’s body.

It was an assist from Shim Seung-seop. It was a perfect connection.

“Over here!”

Jeong Seon-kyung swung her ax as if it was her magic spell. Her gigantic blade successfully struck Al-Sharon’s right shoulder.

It parted his shoulders, while his right arm, which fell off his main body, became dust and scattered.

“Coooooo!”

Al-Sharon roared, and a formidable shock wave spread out in an instant. Ko Byeong-gap and Jeong Seon-kyung, who were close by, flew to a faraway place like a baseball hit by a bat.

“Ugh!”

“Damn…”

‘Damn it. I think my whole body is broken.’

Their minds became dizzy. Fortunately, thanks to Han Chang-hoon’s immediate healing, they were able to relax.

Ko Byeong-gap and Jeong Seon-kyung quickly rose to their feet. Al-Sharon, whose arms fell off, was struggling ahead.

She smiled, showing her teeth.

“Alright! We just need to do it one more time. I’ll cut off his leg, and at the end, I’ll pull out his head.”

Around this time, Ko Byeong-gap’s group was filled with anticipation that they could overcome this difficulty until Al-Sharon spoke.

“Get up.” He said. For those who didn’t know the Ashvilam language, it just sounded like a meaningless babble, but Ko Byeong-gap understood it clearly.

It was shortly after Al-Sharon’s attack. The monsters that made up the ‘tree’ dawdled. They melted and became shaped like dough.

The grayish-brown dough formed into figures.

‘These… These guys…’

They were soldiers, about two thousand of them. Although their size was the same as that of an ordinary human, their armor was very similar to Al-Sharon’s.

“Shin… Shin Seung-seop!”

“Hit the unbelievers.”

The Holy Army moved in unison at Al-Sharon’s command. They changed into rows and looked like a tidal wave.

“What the hell! All of a sudden?”

“I can’t believe it!”

“Argh!”

Shim Seung-seop spread his arms wide and exploded Karma. He created a force field made of an electric current that was about 100 meters wide and fired it away. That attack would turn anyone into ashes by just brushing against them. Sadly, they weren’t fazed.

“Guard!”

The soldiers of the Holy Army screamed. The soldiers in charge of the front line of the ranks created a shield by releasing Karma. There were hundreds of them, and they were all of good quality, so their scale was huge.

Shim Seung-seop’s surprise attack collided with hundreds of shields. Some were smashed out, of course. In the aftermath, they were toasted, but the majority survived.

“Archers!”

The soldiers rallied again. The soldiers at the back of the line hung karma arrows on their bows and shot in unison.

“That’s crazy!”

“Come to me!”

Han Chang-hoon stepped forward and deployed a hemispherical shield.

Papabak! Papabak!

“Ugh!”

The arrows poured down like rain. Han Chang-hoon did his best to maintain his shield. At that time, Jeong Seon-kyung shouted.

“Up! Let’s get out of here!”

“Wait, what!”

It happened in an instant. Al-Sharon, who was far away, jumped and fell onto their shield. His heavy feet pressed against the shield.

Ko Byeong-gap, Jeong Seon-kyung, and Shim Seung-seop were barely able to avoid it. However, Han Chang-hoon couldn’t avoid it and was trampled on.

“Mr. Chang-hoon!”

“Knights!”

Before they knew it, the knights who approached came wielding their spears. Each of them had a similar combat power to an A-class hunter.

The Holy soldiers stuck together like a flock of dogs. If it were only them, the party could survive. However, when Al-Sharon joined in, the game quickly turned around.

“Gasp!”

Shim Seung-seop was the first one to be attacked. He was kicked by Al-Sharon and flew dozens of meters away. Sadly, the only healer who could heal him was already one with the floor.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Jeong Seon-kyung swung her ax at random. Once wielded, six to seven Holy soldiers lost their limbs. However, she was forced to raise a white flag in the endless volume of offensive.

Things didn’t get better for Ko Byeong-gap, either. In the meantime, dozens of arrows shot by the archers of the Holy Army lunged into his back. Countless weapons swept through his body, not missing the opening.

A shriek resounded through the meadow, and Ko Byeong-gap and his party were annihilated.

***

“You pathetic man.”

Someone muttered in the darkness. Ko Byeong-gap couldn’t get any information except that the owner of the voice was very upset.

“Poor, pathetic man.”

He heard a voice again. Ko Byeong-gap felt a surge of irritation.

“Shut up, Landriol.”

“Oh.”

“I told you to shut up.”

He exclaimed and was surprised that he had spoken. What? Was he still alive?

Ko Byeong-gap opened his eyes. All he could see was the darkness. He couldn’t even measure its end. He tried to find Landriol in the dark, but he couldn’t see him anywhere.

Suddenly, as if teasing him, a voice came from behind his back.

“We, the Sarahons, are the natural enemies of God. Even if you have that will, you are being trampled on mercilessly. That’s just half the story. You’re so pathetic I can’t even look at you.”

Ko Byeong-gap turned around fiercely, and then, he argued.

“I’m a human being.”

“You wouldn’t say that the things you govern are human.”

“They’re Goblins. They are not Sarahons.”

“Why don’t you stop playing with dumb words?”

“Damn it, why the fuck would you show up? Otherwise, I’m dying here!”

“Yes, being weak is annoying.”

“Does… Does it mean that I’m dead because you’re with me? So this place must be like the afterlife. There’s not as much to it than I thought.”

Ko Byeong-gap clicked his tongue as he laid down. Landriol crossed his arms with a very disapproving expression on his face.

“I can’t believe a man like you beat me. If it weren’t for that little girl, you wouldn’t have put a finger on me.”

“Losers can’t make excuses, didn’t you learn this? What the hell are you talking about now that a dead man is here? There’s nothing you can even do.”

Ko Byeong-gap said so and glanced at Landriol. His two-meter muscled body was very menacing. He slowly turned his gaze away.

“Whether you’re wearing clothes or not. You’re not a pervert, so why are you naked like that?”

“Enough of the nonsense and get up.”

“What? Never mind. I’m not in the mood for a fight. Let’s do it later.”

“Get up. If it’s too late, it’s really dangerous.”

Landriol came with a stride. Ko Byeong-gap thought he was caught up in something annoying. Anyway, his mouth was the problem.

“Hey, hey… We’ll do it later. Later.”

“Get up!” Landriol shouted.

And Ko Byeong-gap opened his eyes.

“Gasp! Gasp!”

His vision was red due to the blood flowing from his forehead. Ko Byeong-gap unconsciously tried to wipe it off. However, even that was impossible because his arms were restrained.

‘What happened…?’

He rolled his eyes and grasped the situation.

It was dark as the sun had gone down.

The first thing he saw was the huge tree. The tree with the holy warrior Al-Sharon. He was tied to a tentacle that stretched out of that tree.

It wasn’t just him. All the hunters were unconscious and were bound to the tree.

‘What about Al-Sharon?’

Somehow, the Holy Army was nowhere to be seen, including Al-Sharon. Ko Byeong-gap seriously considered whether to feel relieved or anxious at this point.

“Seong-kyung, noona! Mr. Seung-seop! Mr. Chang-Hoon!”

He called his party at the top of his voice, but they showed no sign of waking up. His voice couldn’t come out in the first place. Even breathing was hard since he had no strength left in his body.

‘Is this tentacle sucking power?’

He could feel it. The tentacles wrapped around his body like leeches were absorbing their power. Currently, it was too much to cut off the tentacles with force, but there was a way to escape.

He opened the door and went over to Ashvilam.

Flap!

“Ugh…”

He sprawled on the dirt floor. He couldn’t control his body, so he just dawdled on the floor.

To make matters worse, his consciousness began to blur.

‘I’ve used up too much power. Somebody… Somebody help me…’

He forced his eyelids up. Suddenly, a light flickered to his side. After a while, he heard a voice.

“Lord?”

Ko Byeong-gap looked up and saw where the sound was coming from. A Beast Goblin, who appeared to be a guard, was illuminating his side with a torch.

Soon, his face turned white.

“Lord! Lord!”

The Beast Goblin, named Gagab, rushed to help Ko Byeong-gap. He then started shouting everywhere.

“It’s the Lord! He’s down! Is anyone there? Lord…”

“Shh. Quietly. Be quiet, man…”

“Lord, are you alright? You’re a mess!”

Gagab was almost about to cry.

‘I can’t show this to mom.’

In the midst of this, Ko Byeong-gap worried about his mother.

“Move me for now.”

“Are we going to the residence of the Lord?”

to

“I see!”

Gagab quickly carried Ko Byeong-gap around. He ran at a pace that would never happen again in his life.

before long. When Gagab knocked on the door two or opened the door, rubbing his eyes.

“What are you doing at this hour of the night? Oh God… Lord!”

in an emergency. Hurry up and heal him!”

“Oh, come on, bring him in!”

Ko Byeong-gap him on a flat surface and hurried into healing. Gagab stood on the edge with a nervous look.

“Oh, how are you? Are you okay, Lord?”

a big frown.

“Other than his wounds, he’s so weak. I don’t know what happened to him…”

the Lord’s life!”

He then raised his head and said, “Ea! Go find Ea.”

“Who’s Ea?”

“She’s the one who manages the food ingredients in the restaurant. Ask her to find dragon meat. We need that meat!”

“Oh, I get it!”

Gagab rushed out. Varmond endured his tears and devoted himself to treating him.

“Lord… open your eyes. Lord…”

***

“Are you here again? Damn it, he’s here again.”

“Don’t think I’m happy to see your face.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

Ko Byeong-gap snorted his nose and sat down. Landriol was about ten steps away and had a stern look on his face.

“Poor guy.”

“Damn it! Can you stop saying that?”

“I see you’re in trouble. What are you going to do now?”

“Oh my God, you’re not adding any help.”

“I’m not adding anything?!”

Landriol said with a ferocious force. He strode up and grabbed Ko Byeong-gap’s collar.

“Say it again. I didn’t add anything?”

“Why don’t you let go of this? Do you want to die again?”

Ko Byeong-gap also showed off his fierce energy. He shook off Landriol’s arm. Landriol opened his triangular eyes, stared at him, and sighed heavily.

“Why don’t you use the power that I had given you? Did you wish to end up in a graveyard wasting all that water with you?”

“What nonsense are you even talking about?”

“Don’t pretend. I know you’re secretly rejecting me.”

Ko Byeong-gap swallowed his words and then averted his eyes while he groped his inside pocket habitually. Unfortunately, he had no cigarettes.

“Is it because of your hatred for me? Is that more precious than your life?”

Ko Byeong-gap didn’t answer again this time. He didn’t care, yet Landriol kept speaking.

“The humans who were with you, they’re about to die. You don’t mean to save them? You would follow in the same footsteps as before.”

“Damn it. So let me know how I can defeat those monsters?”

Landriol crouched in front of Ko Byeong-gap. He seemed angry, yet he seemed to be smiling.

“You don’t even know the basics of battle. A pawn is a pawn, and a chief is a chief. Don’t you also have something to call a military force?”

“You want me to bring the Goblins?”

“Are you saying you have more to offer than that? They’re the things that are attached to you even though you refuse to carry them. Do you believe in their loyalty?”

“Of course, I know how much the kids like me.”

Ko Byeong-gap smiled as he remembered the Goblins. In an instant, his expression changed resolutely.

“That’s why I can’t. I can’t let them die or get hurt because of me.”

“What do you mean? You idiot!” Landriol roared so loud that the entire dark space almost rang. His anger almost stung his skin, so he spoke his heart out non-stop.

“What do you think a king is? What do you think of his subjects?”

“What?”

“The king is the lamp that illuminates the horizon, and the servant is the firewood that sets their bodies on fire. In addition, the king is the one standing at the highest place, and the servants are the stepping stone for the king by giving up their backs. No king burns himself, and even if there is one, it’s a flame that will die down. No king touches the sky on his own, and even if there is one, he will be a fool who is mistaken or ignorant.”

“…”

“I’ve stepped down in recognition of your qualities, but I can’t help but ask you again. Are you a babysitter who takes care of the things below you? Or are you a king who reigns over all his people? Think carefully and answer!”

“I’m…”

Landriol’s face turned red as Ko Byeong-gap delayed his answer. It took him a while. He let out a sigh of anger and said, “I’ll give you time to think. Come see me again when you’re settled.”

The black space began to be colored with bright light. Landriol slipped away in the darkness, and Ko Byeong-gap opened his eyes in the presence of countless Goblins.